Emergency beach repairs start in New Jersey shore town amid $33M legal fight

Heavy equipment crews are moving sand along a stretch of badly eroded beach in North Wildwood where a bitter fight over how to protect its rapidly shrinking beaches has led to $33 million worth of litigation. The town received emergency permission last week from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to repair dunes and restore beach access points before the start of the summer tourism season this weekend. The town and the state have been fighting for years over how best to protect North Wildwood’s shoreline as it waits for a beach replenishment project that it still at least two years away.